15 Rare Pictures of Barack Obama

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For eight years, while he served as President of the United States, we saw lots of Barack Obama. We saw him adorably play with babies, steal sweet kisses with his wife, sit in stoic thought at his desk, and joke with Joe Biden. But even though we got very used to seeing images of Obama in his White House years, here are 15 photographs of the historical 44th President that you may not have seen!

Where it all began

This is a photo of future President of the United States Barack Obama as a precious diaper-wearing toddler in Hawaii in 1962. We all have seen the pictures and videos of Obama losing his chill around cute kids, well it looks like was once a super cute kid too.

Obama Sr, and Jr

Here is a grinning young Obama enjoying a hug from his father, Barack Hussein Obama Sr. who was a Kenyan senior governmental economist. Obama’s parents divorced when he was two and this photo is most likely from the 1971 visit his father paid Obama in Hawaii where the young man lived with his mother. Obama’s father died in a car accident in Kenya in 1982. He is the central figure of Obama’s 1995 memoir “Dreams from My Father.”

Former smoker

This photo of a cool, young adult Obama shows him enjoying a drag from a cigarette while being shaded from the sun by a large straw hat. Unlike President Bill Clinton who claimed otherwise, Obama said “I inhaled frequently-that was the point.”

Focused

No, he is not checking to see if this ball is inflated. And while this photo looks like how all of us watching the Patriots/Falcons Superbowl 51 game looked, it is actually from 2009 while Obama listened to a briefing meeting in the Roosevelt Room.

Chillin

Soon after graduating from Columbia University, Obama worked to help rebuild houses in low-income communities in Chicago. Here’s a candid shot of him during that time taking a break in his jeans, leather jacket, and flip-flops. Plus that awesome hair.

First Family

Barack and Michelle Obama have come to represent #relationshipgoals as they continue to grow together and support and inspire each other. This picture seems to show that the young couple, who met at a Chicago law firm in 1989, were a perfect match from the start.

Stay cool

No, this not a still from “Wet Hot American Summer.” Though it really looks like it could be. This is the future President with a fellow student from Occidental, Mark Anderson from Occidental at a festival in Pasadena’s Central Park in the spring of 1980. Those sunglasses.

5th grade

This picture confirms that growing up in Hawaii would look exactly as floral printed as you’d think it would. Though the adorable, young Obama in this 5th-grade class photo from Punahou School is easy to spot as he has chosen to not give in to the bold print style that most of his classmates are sporting.

Barry Obama

President Obama’s passion for hoops is well known as he frequently played for fun and for the camera while in office. Here is a 1979 picture of Obama who played guard for his school’s state championship winning team.

Well educated

“You got into Harvard Law? What? Like it’s hard?” Barack Obama also went to Elle Wood’s school, the elite Harvard Law. Where in addition to being the first black president of the Harvard Law Review in the spring of 1990, he also posed for some chill photos in the bookcases of the library.

1972

Before he ever spoke at a Democratic National Convention, a young Barack Obama was part of what looks like a very fun Pencil Chewers Convention in Mrs. Morioko’s sixth-grade class at the Punahou School in Hawaii in 1972. Clearly, Obama always had that sense of humor.

Swoon

Again. The Obamas show us #relationshipgoals captured in a super cute moment where Michelle, wearing Obama’s tux jacket to keep warm, shares a sweet intimate stare with her husband. And not one of the other guys there even cares or acknowledges. That means this kind of adorable show of affection between the Obamas must have been common.

Respect

Obama’s connection with working-class people of color helped him become the first black President. This photo of him doing his signature fist bump greeting with a janitor in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building captures that true bond he had with all people who he worked to protect the freedom of as President as well as the respect he shows all around him.

1992

Yes, I can’t say enough how perfect this couple is. Just look at this wedding photo of the Obamas from 1992 where, with shoes off, they look exhausted from partying and dancing to YMCA, but so in love, happy, and cool.

To the left

A President’s work is never done and apparently that means you have to move your own furniture too as is captured in this photo of the President and Jim Douglas, the former Governor of Vermont who are moving a couch in the oval office.